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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29229267">Some Nights I Stay Up (Cashing In My Bad Luck)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LacieDayParade/pseuds/LacieDayParade'>LacieDayParade</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Alex Rider (TV 2020), Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AR Febuwhump (Alex Rider), Insomnia, No beta we die like Ian Rider</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:42:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,708</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29229267</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LacieDayParade/pseuds/LacieDayParade</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex is curled up in bed, eyes fixed unblinkingly on his phone which reads 3:03 am. </p><p>--</p><p>Febuwhump 2021. Day 6: Insomnia</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Rider &amp; Wolf, K-Unit &amp; Alex Rider</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>AR Febuwhump 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Some Nights I Stay Up (Cashing In My Bad Luck)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my submission for the AR Febuwhump 2021 draw! I got day 6, insomnia.</p><p>I'll admit, it got away from me a little bit. I'm happy with how it's turned out though :)</p><p>Thanks again to Lil_Lupin for arranging this!!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><span>Alex is curled up in bed, eyes fixed unblinkingly on his phone which reads </span><em><span>3:03</span></em> <em><span>am</span></em><span>. This is the third night that he’s had trouble falling asleep; laying wide awake until about five or six in the morning when slumber finally overtakes him, only to be awakened by his alarm at seven. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack has been gone for three days and three nights.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>MI6 had sent Eagle to collect him from school, and she’d taken him home to pack a bag and driven him East out of the city towards Slough. Once they were off the M25 and driving south, Eagle had pulled into the next services she saw.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on? Where are you taking me?” Alex had demanded, turning to face Eagle across the divide between the driver and front passenger seats of the car. She’d twisted around in her seat as well, so the two of them were face to face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s good to see you again Alex, although I wish the circumstances were different,” Eagle had smiled at him, but it hadn’t quite reached her eyes. “Look, I’m not going to beat around the bush here. Your housekeeper, Jack, is missing, and we have reason to believe whoever took her is out to get you as well.” She’d held up a hand as Alex opened his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“MI6 have discreetly had some of their people following you and Jack, so as soon as she was taken they knew. They’ve already got some of their best people on it. In the meantime, the others and I have been tasked with keeping you safe, which is why you’re with me now. We’re going to rendezvous with the others at a safe house, and we’ll be staying there until Jack is found.” Alex had gone cold at Eagle’s words, his arms rising to wrap around himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need your phone,” She’d continued, holding out her hand. “I’m going to remove the SIM card for now, and once we get to where we’re going, Fox will be dismantling it and making it almost completely untraceable. You’ll get it back in one piece, but I’m afraid we’ll be turning off all communications while we’re there as well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Frowning, Alex had dug his phone out of the pocket of his school trousers and handed it over to the woman. She’d promptly done as she’d said and removed the SIM, before giving it back to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, where exactly is it we’re going?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For now, south.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There hadn’t been any talking after that. They drove for hours on end, taking a circuitous route all the way to Boughton Monchelsea, a village just south of Maidstone in Kent. It was early evening when Eagle finally turned up a gravelled drive that was almost completely hidden behind tall overgrown hedges. The house came into view a couple of minutes later, a moderately sized building with two floors and a doorstep on which Wolf was standing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Eagle finally parked and cut the engine, Wolf came down to meet the two of them. He smiled at Alex as well, but just like Eagle it hadn’t quite reached his eyes. He’d been ushered indoors by the two soldiers, and the front door had closed behind them with a strange finality.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Alex is curled up in bed, eyes fixed unblinkingly on his phone which reads </span><em><span>7:07</span></em> <em><span>am</span></em><span>. This is the fourth day that he’s woken up after a restless night and next to no sleep.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a few minutes, Fox or Wolf will be knocking on the bedroom door to check he’s awake. After that, Alex will get up, get washed, and get dressed for the day. He’ll have breakfast at the rickety table in the kitchen with the rest of K-unit, and then his time is his own for the rest of the day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack has been gone for four days and three nights, and Alex is missing her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have we heard anything about the housekeeper yet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alex hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on Fox and Wolf, but the two of them were talking in the living room, and he was planning to pass through and go into the garden.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not yet.” Wolf replied. Alex couldn’t see the two of them from where he was lurking in the doorway, but he could easily imagine the grim look on Wolf’s face. “I’m starting to think we won’t hear back for a while.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m worried about Alex. Granted we don’t know him very well, but the kid’s really quiet.” Fox did genuinely sound concerned, which would be a first in Alex’s life since Ian’s death - except Jack, of course. But she was still missing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know what you mean. If I were--” Alex didn’t hear the rest of what Wolf had been planning to say, as Snake had just come through the door from the kitchen and called out to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alex! Just the young man I was looking for,” She smiled at him. “Would you mind giving me a hand in the kitchen? Eagle’s pretty useless when it comes to cooking, and I really need a second pair of hands.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shrugging, Alex nodded and followed Snake into the kitchen. She tasked him with peeling potatoes for dinner, and he worked diligently. His mind was revolving round what he’d overheard from Wolf and Fox, and would be for the rest of the evening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Alex is curled up in bed, eyes fixed unblinkingly on his phone which reads </span><em><span>4:04</span></em> <em><span>am</span></em><span>. This is the fourth night that he’s had trouble falling asleep.</span></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Jack has been gone for four days and four nights.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Time passed, and Alex could feel the tension in the housing rising and rising. The five of them had been cooped up together for just over a week now, and it was clear that the four soldiers didn’t quite know what to do with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wolf and Fox had tried discussing sports with him, but the conversations had died off quickly when they realised he only really enjoyed watching football - and neither of them had the time to put to following a team. When they’d asked, Alex had lied and told them he supported Crystal Palace because he liked the mascots.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eagle and Snake had also tried to keep him occupied. Snake regularly had him help prepare dinners in the evenings, and Eagle often joined him in the garden when he went outside. He suspected that she was more keeping an eye on him than keeping him company, but never questioned it. The two of them wouldn’t really talk, but Alex would admit it was nice to know there was someone nearby as he sat on the grass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was still getting next to no sleep, and it was definitely showing. The purple bruises below his eyes were an obvious giveaway, and he was far more irritable than usual. So much so that when Wolf asked him one morning if he’d slept well, Alex had just glared at the taller man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The same afternoon he’d been dicing peppers for dinner, and brought the knife down on his hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You okay, kid?” Snake had been frying chicken on the stove top. She turned to look and saw him clutching his hand to his chest. “Fox, I need the medkit! Let me see your hand.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alex, you’ve cut your hand. Please let me have a look, I can help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I said I’m fine!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Summoned by Snake’s initial shout, Fox had stopped in the doorway with the medkit in hand. He stood watching the two of them - Snake a short distance from Alex with her hands outstretched, and him with his hand still pressed against his sternum. At Alex’s snarl, the older man’s eyebrows had risen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alex felt the tears start stinging his eyes. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was from the pain of slicing his hand, or from the shame and embarrassment of having Fox and Snake watching him. In the next moment, Fox was gently prising his hand away from his chest and holding it out to Snake.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Miserable, Alex let the two of them tend to his hand. Once they released him, he quickly disappeared upstairs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He skipped dinner that night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Alex is curled up in bed, eyes fixed unblinkingly on his phone which reads </span><em><span>3:13</span></em> <em><span>am</span></em><span>. This is the ninth night that he’s had trouble falling asleep.</span></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Jack has been gone for nine days and nine nights, and Alex isn’t sure how much longer he can deal with this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s on day sixteen that everything comes to a head. Alex had been avoiding K-Unit for a few days. They’d noticed, of course. But nobody had said anything to him about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alex had been about to head upstairs after eating dinner, but Wolf had stopped him at the kitchen door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t we go outside for a minute, hey?” It was phrased like a question, but Alex knew it wasn’t. Silently, he followed the soldier out into the garden. The two of them sat on the grass in the fading light; Alex had his arms wrapped around his knees, while Wolf was leaning back on his arms with legs sprawled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I get that you’re frustrated, Alex, but the others and I are here to help you. To keep you safe. I know you don’t know us all that well, but we genuinely just want to make sure that you’re looked after while--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“While MI6 try to fix their fuck-up and bring Jack back.” Alex sighed bitterly, dropping his chin to rest on his knees. He could feel Wolf’s heavy gaze on him, but he didn’t say anything for a long moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve not been sleeping.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just… I can’t sleep. Not while Jack’s missing.” His voice catches on her name. The traitorous tears are back, pricking at the corners of his eyes. Wolf shifts next to him, then all of a sudden there are a pair of strong arms wrapped around him and pressing him against a warm chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alex breaks. Wolf holds him together, just like Ian used to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alex is curled up in bed. It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>3:42 </span>
  </em>
  <span>am. Jack has been gone for twenty days and nineteen nights, but now she’s back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Alex can finally sleep easy.</span>
</p><p> </p>
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